Rockville considers relocating KID Museum

ROCKVILLE – The Rockville City Council held a budget work session during its meeting Monday night, focusing mostly on proposed funds directed toward the KID Museum.

On Monday, the Rockville City Council discussed dedicating funds in the FY18 budget to possibly relocate the KID Museum, an interactive children’s museum currently located at the Davis Library in Bethesda.

The proposed plan would move the KID Museum to 255 Rockville Pike, near Rockville Town Square, where the County has several offices.

County Executive Ike Leggett proposed moving the County offices located at 255 Rockville Pike to Wheaton, leaving the space open. But the plan to move the County offices was delayed, meaning the space will not be vacated until 2019. The KID Museum planned to move into 255 Rockville Pike after the County moved its office, but that plan is now delayed.

The City is proposing $30,000 to help bring the KID Museum to Rockville.

“It’s really premature to give $30,000 for this to say it is for the imminent move into 255 Rockville Pike,” said Council member Beryl Feinberg. “It is simply not going to happen until at least midway through FY 20.”

Feinberg was alone on the Council as the rest of the members spoke up for the funds for the Museum as they said it would be an asset to the City to have it. Feinberg said she supports the KID Museum’s move to Rockville, but believed it is too soon for the City to help fund the move in the FY 18 budget, when the move will not happen to FY 2020.

“I think it’s important that we continue to show KID Museum that the City is interested in working with them and we would very much like to see them become a part of our downtown and help to be not just another educational institution here in Rockville but to be another source of revenues for our businesses,” Council member Julie Palakovich Carr said.

The Council spent much of the roughly 20 minutes during the budget work session on discussion of the potential funds for the KID museum.

The budget work session comes after the public had their last opportunity to weigh in on the budget during the Council’s last Meeting April 3.

Taxes this year for residents are likely to remain the same, with new City Manager Rob DiSpirito proposing property taxes to remain at 2.92 cents for $100 of assessed value and personal property taxes remaining at 8.05 cents.

Due to increased property assessment values the City will have an extra $2.5 million to work with in revenue from property and income taxes, which will be used in part to hire three additional police officers costing the City $315,210 according to DiSpirito’s proposed budget.

In total, DiSpirito proposed a $129.4 million budget, a 2.5 percent increase from last year, but the Council will make the final decision over the budget and will vote on it May 1.